The city of Portsmouth has announced that construction work is set to begin next week to add a second left hand turn to enter Interstate 95 North from Market Street, in an effort to relieve traffic congestion in that area. The plans have been in the works since 2001, when the city started to acquire the $675,000 needed for that project. The majority of the cost of that project is being picked up by the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, with the city of Portsmouth kicking in $78,000. The work will be done by Pike Industries and includes pushing sidewalks back and moving the center median to create the two lanes. Traffic lights at I-95 North, I-95 South, and Kearsarge Way will be synched up to create a better traffic flow. The entire project is expected to be completed in the spring of 2013.